Fiat Marea in general

This car was purchased by my partner before I met her. It is a 1998 R-registered Marea Weekend 1.8 16v ELX model. Specification wise, it is excellently equipped, to say that this is a low-range model. It has climate control air conditioning, electric front windows, power steering, central locking, rev clock etc. To drive, it is OK. The biggest gripes I have with it are: - It is very underpowered - a 1.8i 16v enine should perform a lot better - It does not handle too well round corners, but then it's hardly a rally-car! - It has no ABS, and locks up far too easily in the wet.- - Engine noise in the cabin is harsh Living with ...  Read the complete review

What is it with Fiat? Not content with having the most hideous colour schemes on the roads and the ugliest vehicle on the planet (Multipla in case you hadn't guessed), they also seem to choose their car names from the big book of strange. From the company that gave us the Bravo and Ulysses we are now presented with Marea. Bet you can't say that without wanting to launch into a well known song from West Side Story. Ok, I'm about to get on with the op. This car was another hire car after my SAAB was (yet again) taken in for clutch work. First impressions are that it looks normal, which in itself is unusual for Fiat. Nowt special as we ...  Read the complete review

My husband recently gave up a company car (Vauxhall Vectra 2.0TD Est), and replaced it with a year-old Marea W'end 1.8TD Estate. I'm the primary user, and it's used to transport kids and dogs (and everything else that goes with them). At first, I missed the luxuries of the Vectra (climate control, remote controlled multidisc CD, etc), and found the dashboard controls a bit boring (lack of buttons and lights), I soon got used to it. The clutch and steering are heavier than the old car, which is actually quite reassuring - I actually feel as though I'm driving the car. However, I find the suspension a bit stiff, and occasionaly ...  Read the complete review

I borrowed one of these recently to take my family to the airport (three adults, two tiny children and all the luggage that goes with that lot for 2 weeks!). The Weekend is the estate version of the Marea and it does offer a huge amount of boot space. We managed to fit 3 suitcases, 2 overnight bags, 2 nappy bags and 2 push chairs into the boot of mine. OK so it wasn't easy and fitting it all in felt like some kind of test from the Krypton Factor, but we did get it all in. There is plenty of seat room in the Marea and plenty of leg room too. It is a large car, on the inside and on the outside with a fairly long nose and high, chunky boot. ...  Read the complete review

I owned one of these for over two years, it proved very reliable with no mechanical failures. The service costs were fixed but fairly expensive and I didn't find the dealer network particularly friendly, they seemed to have a "sell em cheap and then abandon em" policy. The worst thing about this car was the horrible amount of squeaky plastic that chirped constantly when driving on anything other than a billiard table, oh yes, lets not forget the rubbish quality inbuilt radio which came without any rear speakers. I thought that it looked the buisiness from the front but that rear view is so boring compared to either the bravo or ...  Read the complete review